§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many appeals by gypsies against refusal of planning permission were considered by the Secretary of State in each of the years 1994 to 2001 inclusive; how many of those were successful; and, in each case where the Secretary of State upheld the appeal, how many pitches were allowed. [HL2315]
§ The Minister of State, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)The provision of information on planning appeals is the responsibility of the Planning Inspectorate. I have asked the Inspectorate's Chief Executive, Mr Chris Shepley, to write to the noble Lord.
Letter from the Chief Planning Inspector, Chris Shepley, dated 21 January 2002.
The Minister of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions has asked me to reply to your Question about planning appeals made by gypsies.
The Inspectorate does not maintain records on the status of appellants. We do, however, record the proposed land use, and the number of appeals against refusal of planning permission for gypsy encampments and the number allowed are as follows.
187WA
Decided by Inspectors Decided by the Secretary of State Year Number decided Number allowed Number decided Number allowed 1994 36 7 1 1 1995 37 10 6 0 1996 31 6 6 0 1997 28 10 5 3
Decided by Inspectors Decided by the Secretary of State Year Number decided Number allowed Number decided Number allowed 1998 40 9 3 3 1999 26 13 5 1 2000 30 13 4 3 2001 28 16 4 3 The number of pitches allowed is as follows.
Number of pitches unidentified Number of pitches allowed By Inspectors By Secretary of State Year Appeals by Inspectors Appeals by Secretary of State Appeals Pitches Appeals Pitches 1994 5 1 2 7 1995 6 0 4 13 1996 4 0 2 2 1997 7 3 3 4 1998 8 2 1 4 1 2 1999 13 1 2000 13 3 2001 12 3 4 7